Junaid jumps seven places in Test ranking

KARACHI - Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan has jumped seven places to a best-ever 21st position in Test bowling ranking following his spells of 5-58 and 3-93 in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, ICC announced on Monday. The centurions in the Test, Misbahul Haq and Younus Khan have also moved up a place each in their rankings. Misbah, who notched up 135 in the Test, is now ranked eighth (up by one). Younus, on the other hand, has moved up a place to ninth following his knock of 136 in the first innings of the Test. In bowling Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath in fourth (down by one) and Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal in fifth spot (down by one) continue to be the highest ranked bowlers for their sides. Ryan Harris, star of Australia’s 281-runs win over England in the fifth and final Test at Sydney, has moved up two places to a career-best third in the latest Rankings. Harris’ match haul of eight for 61, not only helped him claim the player of the match award, but also led his side to a 5-0 series whitewash. The other Australia bowler to star in the Ashes triumph, Mitchell Johnson, has also continued his upward movement on the table. Winner of the ICC Cricketer of the Year Award in 2009, he has jumped three places to eighth to make a return to the top 10. Johnson, named player of the series for picking 37 wickets, made an impressive return to Test cricket jumping as many as 14 places during the course of the series. Overall, Australia now has three bowlers in the top 10, with Peter Siddle retaining his sixth place. For England, Stuart Broad continues to be the only bowler in the top 10, at 10th, down by one. In the top 20, James Anderson retains his 15th place, while Australia’s Nathan Lyon is now at 18th (down by one). Outside the top 20 England’s Ben Stokes has continued his impressive run, rocketing as many as 36 places to 57th following his match haul of eight for 161, which included his best figures of six for 99. Meanwhile, Australia opening batsman Chris Rogers has jumped 10 places to a best-ever 12th in ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen. Rogers, who scored 119 in the second innings of the Sydney Test, moved up. The other centurion in the Sydney Test, Steven Smith, who stroked 115 in the first innings, has jumped 20 places to a best-ever 21st. Brad Haddin, on the other hand, moved up eight places to 23rd as he ended as the second highest run-getter in the series with 493 runs. Stokes continued to make an all-round impact, jumping 27 places to 55th on the batting table to follow up his bowling exploits. Australia captain Michael Clarke in sixth position (down by one) is the highest ranked batsman from his side. Clarke is also the only batsman from either Australia or England to feature within the top 10. South Africa’s AB de Villiers continues to top the batting table followed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul in second place and Ross Taylor in third position.